I think, the stool is not for shoe storage, but for shoe care items (brushes, polishes etc.) The idea is, you sit on the stool, while you polish your shoes, and rest the tools on the pull-out tray.

For $ 1,000 you cannot buy that crocodile/alligator hide. This hide (covering three sides of the cube) is huge and must have come from a very old animal. The price of a skin will increase disproportionately with the size as large hides are extremely rare.

I hear you but when you see the size of some of these Aussie "salties" (salt water crocs) - which reportedly have the best croc hides in the world - you have to wonder why this is the case.

Imai Hiroki Trunk Show at Umeda Hankyu Men's, Osaka
For those living in Osaka, sorry just missed it 5/25~5/26

Still, enjoy some pretty shoes from his website

Imai's MTO shoes start from ¥57,750 incl.VAT ($575 USD) for Blake constructed shoes, and for extra he can also do Blake Rapid or Handsewn Welted shoes. He also allows last customization, which I think is quite generous for this price range.

He works from his atelier in Himeji city, and all of his shoes are handmade and hand painted by a small team of 3 craftsmen (including himself).

I know he's been around for a while, and has been featured on several English shoe blogs. I don't think he accepts international orders as for now, though he seems to get plenty of overseas inquiries.

Imai Hiroki Trunk Show at Umeda Hankyu Men's, Osaka
For those living in Osaka, sorry just missed it 5/25~5/26

Still, enjoy some pretty shoes from his website

Imai's MTO shoes start from ¥57,750 incl.VAT ($575 USD) for Blake constructed shoes, and for extra he can also do Blake Rapid or Handsewn Welted shoes. He also allows last customization, which I think is quite generous for this price range.

He works from his atelier in Himeji city, and all of his shoes are handmade and hand painted by a small team of 3 craftsmen (including himself).

I know he's been around for a while, and has been featured on several English shoe blogs. I don't think he accepts international orders as for now, though he seems to get plenty of overseas inquiries.

geepus, i'd love to get my hands on this exact pair . . . . any proxies available ?

Quote:

Originally Posted by nutcracker

Imai Hiroki Trunk Show at Umeda Hankyu Men's, Osaka

Imai's MTO shoes start from ¥57,750 incl.VAT ($575 USD) for Blake constructed shoes, and for extra he can also do Blake Rapid or Handsewn Welted shoes. He also allows last customization, which I think is quite generous for this price range.

geepus, i'd love to get my hands on this exact pair . . . . any proxies available ?

Quote:

Quote:

Originally Posted by nutcracker

Imai Hiroki Trunk Show at Umeda Hankyu Men's, Osaka

Imai's MTO shoes start from ¥57,750 incl.VAT ($575 USD) for Blake constructed shoes, and for extra he can also do Blake Rapid or Handsewn Welted shoes. He also allows last customization, which I think is quite generous for this price range.

Imai shoes used to be sold quite aggressively through online retailers (including an official online store), but somehow he abandoned that business model. Now, I believe his shoes are available only through trunk shows (and maybe by visiting his atelier directly). Please correct me if otherwise.

I remember he planned to expand overseas, and had a booth at Pitti several years ago. Not sure what happened to his overseas plan.
He did his time in Italy (not France) under a shoemaker called Giuseppe Beltramo. Not sure who he is though.Edited by nutcracker - 5/27/13 at 7:01am

I dropped by Tie Your Tie Aoyama today and saw a cabinet full of Il Micio / Hidetaka Fukaya bespoke samples. There were about 40 of them, in every possible luxury: croc, elephant, shark, and what not. Definitely worth a trip if you happen to be in Tokyo....sorry no pictures. Maybe if I buy a tie, they'll let me snap some pics.......

I dropped by Tie Your Tie Aoyama today and saw a cabinet full of Il Micio / Hidetaka Fukaya bespoke samples. There were about 40 of them, in every possible luxury: croc, elephant, shark, and what not. Definitely worth a trip if you happen to be in Tokyo....sorry no pictures. Maybe if I buy a tie, they'll let me snap some pics.......

Read the first sentence and thought WTF BRO WHERE MA SHOE PRON?.....:P

I'd be keen to take you up on the offer
Will try my best to PM you closer to when I'm going; will be great fun as it won't be just one guys drooling at shoes and looking awkward in a store but...two :P

Shoemaker Ueda Tetsuji started his career designing shoes for Regal Corporation, and then knocked on the doors of Mannina in Firenze, Italy, spending 2 years as an apprentice. He opened his own atelier/shop at the present location (in the posh Ginza district) 8 years ago, and quickly set himself apart from the rest.

His collection features lots of big welts (Norvegese etc...) . He also favors Blake constructed shoes as a comfortable and relatively inexpensive option, esp. for 1st time clients (in the ¥40K range + ¥35K or so for the last) . Fascinatingly, he avoids welted shoes altogether ("the market is already saturated with them"), though he can do it if requested. His repertoire also includes sneakers and hiking boots, reflecting his motto of making bespoke shoes for every occasion.

Bespoke shoes for every occasion

A sturdy pair of full brogues with his signature Norvegese welt.

Red apron derby with chains.

Bespoke hiking boots with really big welts.

Blake constructed Sneakers in veg tanned leather from Himeji. The tan color looks quite beautiful, and should age gracefully.

Crane origami made from the same Himeji veg tanned leather. They look impossibly thin.